Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about all his miracles.
3 Be glad that you are his;
let those who seek the Lord be happy.
4 Depend on the Lord and his strength;
always go to him for help.
5 Remember the miracles he has done;
remember his wonders and his decisions.
6 You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
8 He will keep his agreement forever;
he will keep his promises always.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it a law for the people of Jacob;
he made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan,
and it will belong to you.”
37 Then he brought his people out,
and they carried with them silver and gold.
Not one of his people stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were glad when they left,
because the Egyptians were afraid of them.
39 The Lord covered them with a cloud
and lit up the night with fire.
40 When they asked, he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven.
41 God split the rock, and water flowed out;
it ran like a river through the desert.
42 He remembered his holy promise
to his servant Abraham.
43 So God brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them lands of other nations,
so they received what others had worked for.
45 This was so they would keep his orders
and obey his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
12 This is what the Lord said:
“You people have a wound that cannot be cured;
your injury will not heal.
13 There is no one to argue your case
and no cure for your sores.
So you will not be healed.
14 All those nations who were your friends have forgotten you.
They don’t care about you.
I have hurt you as an enemy would.
I punished you very hard,
because your guilt was so great
and your sins were so many.
15 Why are you crying out about your injury?
There is no cure for your pain.
I did these things to you because of your great guilt,
because of your many sins.
16 But all those nations that destroyed you will now be destroyed.
All your enemies will become captives in other lands.
Those who stole from you will have their own things stolen.
Those who took things from you in war will have their own things taken.
17 I will bring back your health
and heal your injuries,” says the Lord,
“because other people forced you away.
They said about you, ‘No one cares about Jerusalem!’”
18 This is what the Lord said:
“I will soon make the tents of Jacob’s people as they used to be,
and I will have pity on Israel’s houses.
The city will be rebuilt on its hill of ruins,
and the king’s palace will stand in its proper place.
19 People in those places will sing songs of praise.
There will be the sound of laughter.
I will give them many children
so their number will not be small.
I will bring honor to them
so no one will look down on them.
20 Their descendants will be as they were in the old days.
I will set them up as a strong people before me,
and I will punish the nations who have hurt them.
21 One of their own people will lead them;
their ruler will come from among them.
He will come near to me when I invite him.
Who would dare to come to me uninvited?” says the Lord.
22 “So you will be my people,
and I will be your God.”
36 Believe in the light while you still have it so that you will become children of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.
Some People Won’t Believe in Jesus
37 Though Jesus had done many miracles in front of the people, they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
“Lord, who believed what we told them?
Who saw the Lord’s power in this?” Isaiah 53:1
39 This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also had said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes,
and he has closed their minds.
Otherwise they would see with their eyes
and understand in their minds
and come back to me and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 But many believed in Jesus, even many of the leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they did not say they believed in him for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.